“I think we did,” Di Pace concurs. “I mean, we wanted to go to the finals, at least the finals.”

The pair was shockingly axed, along with Joe “Grocery Store Joe” Amabile and Jenna Johnson, on Monday’s semifinal, during which they earned two perfect scores. Di Pace, in fact, has the most perfect scores this season, with five, and seemed like a lock for the final and maybe even the win.

But those 30s may have been a double-edged sword, Burke thinks, leading fans to become complacent. “Maybe they said, ‘You got perfect scores every week, so maybe we don’t vote,'” she says. “That’s what happened with Sabrina Bryan and Mark Ballas. She left, what, in Week 5 [in Season 5] and she got a perfect score. That’s what happens.”

There are other factors as well, they point out, possibly throwing shade at some other people on the show. “I think we worked so bloody hard to get here. And also to put on a show every Monday and to wow — maybe that’s not what people want to see,” Di Pace says.

Burke adds: “People may want to see somebody with two left feet all of the sudden become a dancer. I don’t know. It’s different for everybody.”

Still, they wouldn’t give up those 30s, now a silver lining in a disappointing finish. “I will take them!” Di Pace says.

Be sure to make your predictions so that the contestants can see how they’re faring in our racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the next episode airs every Monday on ABC. You’ll compete to win a spot on our leaderboard and eternal bragging rights. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.